Just a quickie today– I’m in the middle of a couple of other food projects but I wanted to make sure I posted up this gorgeous, super easy pork recipe. It’s our go-to for leftovers, something I’ll cook when I know that the next few days the Big Man and I will be like ships in the night and I want to make sure there’s good food in the house. We’re talking sandwich style food, something comforting and delicious, and not chosen at random off of grubhub.com. (ah, grubhub.com… my closest friend at the end of a long night when there is nothing to eat in this house)
The sauce for this pork dish is hoisin based, which gets a lot of its barbeque-y flavor from fermented soy, vinegar and sugar. It’s sweet without being cloying, and if you’ve ever had a bowl of pho in a Chinese restaurant, it’s a typical accompaniment alongside the chili sauce It’s basically the Chinese version of your standard American barbeque sauce: a little sweet, a little spicy, and picks up great smoky notes during cooking, especially when roasted or grilled. When combined with the honey, Chinese 5-spice and soy in this recipe, it creates a sauce that is deep in flavor. This stuff is full of umami, or the fifth taste. (more on umami here or here- from Japanese dashi to truffles, umami is that other flavor you love to taste but can’t quite put your finger on)
Whenever I make this dish I think about another time I made it, while with a dear friend who was going through a tough time. It’s one of those meals where there is significant amount of time in between steps, perfect for talking and agonizing and listening and refilling your wineglass (again). It’s that kind of comforting.
Hoisin Bbq Roast Pork Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup white or sherry vinegar
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1 tblsp Chinese 5-spice
- 1 tblsp sesame oil
- 1 medium size thumb ginger, minced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup honey
Instructions
- Rinse pork and poke holes throughout with a fork. Combine 3 tblsp hoisin, 1/4 cup sugar, soy sauce, peanut butter, and vinegar in a bowl. Add pork so it is completely submerged and let sit, refrigerated, for at least half an hour- overnight is best. When ready, heat oven to 450 degrees F and rinse pork of the brine. In a new bowl, combine the white pepper, 5-spice, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, ketchup, honey, 3 tblsp hoisin and 1/4 cup sugar. Set about 1/2 cup aside to use during basting. Line a sheet pan with aluminium foil and arrange the pork in the center of the pan. Spoon or brush the remaining marinade on all sides of the pork and place in the center of the oven. Roast for roughly one hour, basting and turning over at least once, until the internal temperature reaches 100*F.
- Heat the broiler Let rest a bit before slicing.
- Serve topped with sliced scallions, maybe some sauteed bok choy, and your choice of Ramen-style noodles or rice. This pork is incredible the next day sliced thin on a sandwich, with a bit of sriracha-fied mayo and not much else.
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